Sanitary garbage can cabinet

ABSTRACT

A box or cabinet for housing a plurality of garbage cans which has a counterbalanced lid giving easy access to the tops of the garbage cans and an open front closed by a balanced, vertically shiftable door for easy removal of the cans. The cabinet has four upstanding posts at the corners thereof supporting the walls and projecting above the lid to support counterweights or balancing means for the lid and door.

United States Patent [72] Inventor James Francis Healy 4925 Thomas St., Chicago, Ill. 6065 [21] Appl. No. 876,339 [22] Filed Nov. 13,1969

[45] Patentedv Oct. 12,1971

[54] SANITARY GARBAGE CAN CABINET 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 312/319, 232/432 [51] Int. Cl 1506b 9/14 [50] Field of Search 248/DlG. 7,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1918 Delaney 2,539,615 1/1951' Foxetal. 222/135 x 2,717,085 9/1955 Waddington. 211/74(x) 2,719,070 9/1955 312/289 (x 2,802,575 8/1957 211/51 (ux 3,065,858 11/1962 248/TC 3,071,867 l/1963 Barber 34/80(X) Primary Examiner-Bobby R. Gay Assistant ExaminerGarry Moore Attorney-Hill, Sherman, Meroni, Gross & Simpson BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION- 1 Field of the Invention This invention relates to the cabinet art,'and more particularly deals with-a box built up from four vertical corner posts carrying the walls of the box and projecting above the box top A to provide counterbalance carries for a hinged lid and a vertical shiftable front door panel. Thetbox is particularly adapted for receiving a plurality of garbage cans.

2. Description of the Prior Art Heretofore cabinets or boxes for storing receptacles such as garbage cans did not provide easy access to he storedcontainers for removal of the containers without liftingthem out of the open top of the box. Cabinets with hinged front doors were unsatisfactory because of the space, required to swing the doors between open and closed positions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention now provides ajsturdy, relatively inexpensive cabinet for a plurality of garbage cans which has a counterbalanced lid for easy access to the tops of the cans stored therein, and a counterbalanced, vertically shiftable front wall or door panel for easy removal of the cans without lifting. No yard or alley space is required for opening the front of the cabinet so that a garbage truck may be driven close to the cabinet front, and the garbage cans can be shifted out of the cabinet and dumped into the garbage collector with minimum movement and effort.

Four upstanding posts, preferably in the form of hollow metal tubes or pipes, constitute the main frame of the cabinet and are located at the four corners thereof. These pipes extend about twice the height of the cabinet. The front pair of pipes is vertically slotted to slidably receive the end edges of the front door panel. Coiled springs are. suspended in these slotted pipes from the top and are attached to the tops'of the door panel for counterbalancing the same. The rear pipes carry pulleys at their top ends thereof. The cabinet has a lid hinged to the backwall, and cables attached to this are trained over the pulleys and carry the counterweights inside the pipes so that the lid is counterbalanced. A rack bottom is supported by the pipes, and the end and backwalls of the cabinets are also supported on the pipes. Latch means hold the front door panel in closed position and, when mounted on level ground or pavement with he lid and door panel in closed position, the cabinet is sealed.

In general, the cabinet is rectangular with a capacity for two to four garbage cans.

It is then an object of this invention to provide a garbage can cabinet which is sanitary, has easy access through 'the top thereof to the tops of stored garbage cans, and has easy access through the front thereof for removal of the garbage cans without lifting.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sanitarygarbage can cabinet for housing a plurality of garbage cans which has four upstanding posts at the comers thereof constituting the main frame of the cabinet and also providing counter support for the lid of the cabinet and for a vertically shiftable front wall of the cabinet.

Another object of this invention is to provide a strong, inexpensive cabinet for housing garbage cans and the like with a hinged lid and a vertically shiftable front door panel, together with a rack bottom, end and backwalls all supported from the posts.

A specific object of this invention is to provide a sanitary garbage can cabinet which has four pipes at the comers thereof about twicethe height of the cabinet, with one pair of pipes slidably supporting a front door panel and another 'pair of pipes carrying counterweight means for counterbalancing a hinged lid on the cabinet.

A further specific object of this invention is to provide a storage cabinet with a counterbalanced hinged lid nd a vertically shiftable front door panel, a rack bottom, end walls and a backwall, all supported from four upstanding hollow tubes.

Other and further objects of this invention will become apparent to thoseskilled in'the art from the-following detailed description of the annexed sheet of drawings, which, by way of a preferred-example only, shows one embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The cabinet 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2 has four upstanding metal tubes or pipes 11, I2, 13 and 14 at the four comers thereof. The pipes 11 and 12 are at the front of the cabinet 10 and are vertically slotted at 15 along their lengths with the slots facing each other. The rear painof posts 13 and 14 has pulleys or sheaves l6 rotatably mounted on the top ends thereof and directed toward the front posts.

A rectangular rack 17 forms the bottom of the cabinet 10" and is composed of spaced parallel rods 18 extending the full length of the cabinet and secured at their ends in angle strips 19. The ends of the strips 19 have downturned hooks, sucli'as 21, extending through holes, such as 22, in the pipes adjacent the bottom ends of the pipes.

An end wall or panel 23'fonns one end of the cabinet while an identical end wall or panel 24 forms the opposite ends These panels may be metal or plywood. The panel 23 is bolted to the outer side faces of thepipes 11 and 13 by means of cap screws or the like fasteners-25, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4.. The panel 24 is similarly secured to the pipes 12 and 14.

The cabinet also has arear wall or panel 26, and this :is bolted to the rear-faces of the pipes 13 and 14 by means of capscrews or the like 27, as shown in FIG. 4.

A lid or top panel 28'is hinged to the top edge of the rear panel 26 by means of hinges such as 29, and is notched at the four comers thereof to clear the pipes 11-14, as shown in FIG. I. A handle 30is provided on the top of the lid at the front edge thereof. The lid 28'swings from a closed horizontal position resting on the top edge of the end panels 23 and 24 shown in FIG. 1, to an opened position, shown in FIG. 2. I

The front of the cabinet 10 is closed by a vertically shiftable door panel 31, which, like the end panels 23 and 24, the rear panel 26, and the lid 28 is composed of metal or plywood. This.

panel 31 is long enough to extend through the slots of the front I pipes 11 and 12, as shown in FIG. 3, and is high enough to extend flush with the top surface of the lid 28 when it is in closed position, as shown in FIG. 1.

i As illustrated in FIG. 3, thepanel 3l fits freely through the 1 slot 15 of the tube 11, and the end 310 disposed in the tube i s pinned to a smaller tube 32 freely slidable in the tube 11 and extending along the height of the panel 32 or somewhat shorter than thepanel height. Pins such as 33 unite the tube with the panel end 31a. It will, or course, be understood that the opposite end of the panel 31 in the pipe 12 has the same construction.

Coil springs, such as 34, are mounted in the tubes 11 and I2, and have one end attached to the top of each tube and the other end attached to the top edge of that portion 31a of the by the front face of the door panel 31 to lock the panel in its closed position. When the bolts 34 are withdrawn from the retainers 36, the springs 34 will tend to raise the panel 31, and a slight lifting action on the door handle 37 will raise the panel to its open position, as shown in FIG. 2, where the front face of the cabinet will be fully exposed.

The rear pipes 13 and 14 slidably support counterweights 38 attached to cables 39 which are directed over the pulleys l6 and secured at 40 to the lid 28 near the front outer edges of the lid. The lid 28 is thereby counterbalanced and is easily opened by a slight lifting action on the handle 30 from the closed position of FIG. 1 to the open position of FIG. 2.

Garbage cans G are mounted in the cabinet and, as illustrated, three such cans are in side-by-side position on the rack bottom 17. The tops of these cans are lower than the lid 18 in closed position so that each can may receive its own cover or lid without obstruction.

In use the lid is raised to expose the tops of the garbage cans G for readily receiving refuse. It is intended that each can will be sealed by its own lid or cover, but such sealing is not essential.

The filled garbage cans G are easily removed through the open front of the cabinet, since they can slide readily over the rods 18, and do not need to be lifted to be pulled out of the cabinet. Since the front panel 31 in its raised position does not extend forwardly, it is possible for the garbage truck to be moved close to the front side of the cabinet for easy dumping of the cans.

From the above description it should, therefore, be understood that this invention provides a simple, sturdy, inexpensive and easily used cabinet for garbage cans and the like which, in its closed position, is verminand rodent-proof, has a top lid for easy access to he tops of the garbage cans therein, and has a vertically shiftable front door panel for easy removal of the filled garbage cans.

I claim as my invention:

1. A garbage can cabinet comprising a rectangular rack bottom, four upstanding hollow tubes at the corners of said bottom supporting the bottom adjacent the ground, end panels secured to the outer end faces of the lower halves of the tubes, a rear panel secured to the rear end faces of the tubes at the rear of the cabinet, the tubes at the front of the cabinet being vertically slotted, a door panel about half the height of the front tubes extending through the tube slots and slidably mounted in the tubes, said end panels, rear panel and front door panel embracing the rack bottom to form an opentopped receptacle, a lid hinged on the rear panel closing said receptacle, countcrweights in the rear tubes, sheaves carried by the tops of the rear tubes, cables trained over said shields attached to the lid and to the counterweight for counterbalancing the lid, and springs in the front tubes secured to the tops of the tubes and to the tops of the front door panel for counterbalancing the weight of the door panels whereby the lid may be easily raised to give access to the top of the receptacle and the door may be easily raised to give access to the front of the receptacle, said lid and said door when closed cooperating with said panels to seal the receptacle.

2. The cabinet ofclaim 1 wherein the front door panel has means locking the panel in lowered, closed position.

3. The cabinet of claim 1 wherein the front door panel overlies the free front edge of the lid.

4. The cabinet of claim 1 wherein the rack bottom is composed of rods secured at their ends in angle irons, and hook means extend through holes in the pipes to secure the rack to the pipes.

5. A sanitary garbage can cabinet for housing a plurality of upright garbage cans in side-by-side relation which comprises a generally rectangular box having hollow posts at the four corners thereof extending from the bottom of the box to a level substantially above the top of the box and providing a pair of rear posts and a pair of front posts, a vertical back panel secured to said rear posts closing the back of the box, a

pair of end panels secured at their rear ends to said rear posts and at their front ends to said front posts for closing the ends of the box, a vertically shiftable vertical front panel slidably supported by the front posts and movable from a lowered position closing the front of the box to a raised position opening the front of the box to provide ready access to the garbage cans therein, a rack bottom secured to said posts above the bottom ends thereof to provide a support for garbage cans in the box at a level above the bottom of the box and accommodating drainage from the box to the space under the rack bottom, a lid hinged to the back panel for closing the top of the box, counterbalance means in each of the hollow posts, said counterbalance means in the front posts being attached to the shifiable front panel to raise the panel for opening the front box, locking means holding the front panel in lowered box-closing position against the action of the counterbalance means, and means connecting the counterbalance means in the rear posts to the lid for assisting the swinging of the lid relative to the back panel from a lowered box-closing position to an upright position opening the top of the box whereby the lid is easily raised to give access to the tops of the garbage cans therein and the front panel is easily raised to give full access to the garbage cans for removal from the box.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent N 3,612, 638 Dated October 12, 1971 Inventor James Francis Healy It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 8, "carries" should be --carriers;

Column 1, line 13, "to he stored" should be --to the stored--; Column 1, line 46, "with he lid" should be -with the lid--; Column 1, line 73, "lid nd" should be -lid and--;

Column 2, line 50, "edge" should be edges--;

Column 2, line 63, "tube with" should be --tube 32 with--; Column 3, line 15, "lid 18" should be lid 28--;

Column 3, line 29, "description" should be -descriptions--; Column 3, line 33, "to he tops" should be -to the tops; Column 4, line 39, "front box" should be --front of the box-.

Signed and sealed this 2nd day of May 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD ILFLEICHER, JR. ROBERT GOTTSGHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM 1 0-105 (10-69) USCOMM-DC eoa'rs-pes U 5 GOVERNMENY PRINTING OFFICE 919 0-365334 

1. A garbage can cabinet comprising a rectangular rack bottom, four upstanding hollow tubes at the corners of said bottom supporting the bottom adjacent the ground, end panels secured to the outer end faces of the lower halves of the tubes, a rear panel secured to the rear end faces of the tubes at the rear of the cabinet, the tubes at the front of the cabinet being vertically slotted, a door panel about half the height of the front tubes extending through the tube slots and slidably mounted in the tubes, said end panels, rear panel and front door panel embracing the rack bottom to form an open-topped receptacle, a lid hinged on the rear panel closing said receptacle, counterweights in the rear tubes, sheaves carried by the tops of the rear tubes, cables trained over said shields attached to the lid and to the counterweight for counterbalancing the lid, and springs in the front tubes secured to the tops of the tubes and to the tops of the front door panel for counterbalancing the weight of the door panels whereby the lid may be easily raised to give access to the top of the receptacle and the door may be easily raised to give access to the front of the receptacle, said lid and said door when closed cooperating with said panels to seal the receptacle.
 2. The cabinet of claim 1 wherein the front door panel has means locking the panel in lowered, closed position.
 3. The cabinet of claim 1 wherein the front door panel overlies the free front edge of the lid.
 4. The cabinet of claim 1 wherein the rack bottom is composed of rods secured at their ends in angle irons, and hook means extend through holes in the pipes to secure the rack to the pipes.
 5. A sanitary garbage can cabinet for housing a plurality of upright garbage cans in side-by-side relation which comprises a generally rectangular box having hollow posts at the four corners thereof extending from the bottom of the box to a level substantially above the top of the box and providing a pair of rear posts and a pair of front posts, a vertical back panel secured to said rear posts closing the back of the box, a pair of end panels secured at their rear ends to said rear posts and at their front ends to said front posts for closing the ends of the box, a vertically shiftable vertical front panel slidably supported by the front posts and movable from a lowered position closing the front of the box to a raised position opening the front of the box to provide ready access to the garbage cans therein, a rack bottom secured to said posts above the bottom ends thereof to provide a support for garbage cans in the box at a level above the bottom of the box and accommodating drainage from the box to the space under the rack bottom, a lid hinged to the back panel for closing the top of the box, counterbalance means in each of the hollow posts, said counterbalance means in the front posts being attached to the shiftable front panel to raise the panel for opening the front box, locking means holding the front panel in lowered box-closing position against the action of the counterbalance means, and means connecting the counterbalance means in the rear posts to the lid for assisting the swinging of the lid relative to the back panel from a lowered box-closing position to an upright position opening the top of the box whereby the lid is easily raised to give access to the tops of the garbage cans therein and the front panel is easily raised to give full access to the garbage cans for removal from the box. 